Nevada Produce Safety Program Research Strategy Project Abstract / Summary Project Abstract/Summary A primary objective within the Nevada Department of Agriculture's (NDA) mission statement is to protect food, fiber, and human health and safety through effective service and education. As a result, adopting the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) in its entirety and developing a Nevada Produce Safety Program is a priority of the NDA. A self-assessment will be performed in order to establish a comprehensive program in Nevada. This assessment will include modifying the NDA's producer certificate program to capture farminventory data. New mechanisms for capturing needed information will also be identified and created to capture all produce farms that are actively selling in Nevada and to allow for the information to be shared with FDA and other states. This information will lead to the development of a feasible plan for establishing a Produce Safety Program in Nevada. Data sharing systems will be established with common fields included to facilitate the sharing of information involving farm inventories and inspections. This will also allow aggregation of information for assessment of the impacts of the program. The NDA will collaborate with the Desert Farming Initiative (DFI) under the University of Nevada, Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR) and the NDA's communications team in order to create an education, training, and outreach program that informs produce growers of the requirements and facilitates compliance. This program will be formed through participation in Produce Safety Alliance trainings and by collaborating with FDA and other state programs. Based on previous experience in coordinating trainings, producers are expected to be more likely to attend in-state trainings, which is why the NDA will be establishing a Nevada education, training and technical assistance program. Farm assessments will be a component of Nevada's programto provide one-on-one technical assistance to farmers. In addition, the communications team will help create online resources, instructional videos, field guides, and other outreach initiatives that will benefit and inform Nevada growers. The National Consortium of Produce Program Development will be consulted as a program is established. For competition B, the NDA will be developing a state inspection program. In this program, regulatory staff will attend trainings as recommended by FDA to prepare staff for performing regulatory services and in establishing a state regulatory program. The regulatory processes will be determined based on guidance provided by FDA, PSR regulations, and activities performed by other states. Establishing a program that is appropriate and feasible for Nevada is of utmost priority; however, establishing a program that is consistent with other participating states is also an important objective. page | 1